Voters Edhttp://blogwatch.tv
Citizens engaging & watching government for a better PhilippinesWed, 07 Dec 2016 17:15:50 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7https://i0.wp.com/blogwatch.tv/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/juanvote-blogwatch.png?fit=32%2C21Voters Edhttp://blogwatch.tv
323223943863Re-Imagining the Philippineshttp://blogwatch.tv/2016/05/re-imagining-the-philippines/
http://blogwatch.tv/2016/05/re-imagining-the-philippines/#respondFri, 27 May 2016 23:00:36 +0000http://blogwatch.tv/?p=17567This year could mark a watershed in the life of the nation. The election of Rody Duterte to the presidency signifies so many firsts. The first Mindanaoan to hold the highest office. The first with open links to the left, willing to share power with progressives. The first septuagenarian. The first to promise constitutional reform by way of a convention to alter our form of government and remove restrictions on foreign investment. We are witnessing the end of the post-EDSA era, and the start of a new one, the shape of which, we do not yet know. The post-EDSA era spanned thirty years from 1987 to 2016, and was bookended by two Aquino presidencies, that of Corazon and her son Benigno, the 3rd. It is credited with restoring the rambunctious chaos of the post-war republic, which also lasted thirty years, from 1945 to 1974. In between them were a dozen years of “constitutional dictatorship” under Ferdinand E. Marcos. The Marcos regime proclaimed the dawn of a “New Society” that would emancipate us from the feudal order dominated by landowning dynasties that traced back to the principalia at the turn of the last century who revolted against one colonial master (Spain) only [...]

This year could mark a watershed in the life of the nation. The election of Rody Duterte to the presidency signifies so many firsts. The first Mindanaoan to hold the highest office. The first with open links to the left, willing to share power with progressives. The first septuagenarian. The first to promise constitutional reform by way of a convention to alter our form of government and remove restrictions on foreign investment.

We are witnessing the end of the post-EDSA era, and the start of a new one, the shape of which, we do not yet know.

The post-EDSA era spanned thirty years from 1987 to 2016, and was bookended by two Aquino presidencies, that of Corazon and her son Benigno, the 3rd. It is credited with restoring the rambunctious chaos of the post-war republic, which also lasted thirty years, from 1945 to 1974. In between them were a dozen years of “constitutional dictatorship” under Ferdinand E. Marcos.

The Marcos regime proclaimed the dawn of a “New Society” that would emancipate us from the feudal order dominated by landowning dynasties that traced back to the principalia at the turn of the last century who revolted against one colonial master (Spain) only to pledge allegiance to another (America).

These local elites were swiftly rewarded with national office under the “benevolent assimilation” of their new colonial masters and filled the bureaucracy with their acolytes, creating a weak state, unable to set policy independently of vested interests.

Marcos was an upstart. He didn’t hail from the landed aristocracy, neither did his wife who belonged to the poorer relations of an established clan. He was part of a new professional elite, educated under the American system, with a brilliant legal mind, able to use his knowledge of the law to great personal advantage. As a member of a new political class, Marcos took the logic of our elite democracy to its natural conclusion.

The landowners who collected rents from their tenant farmers at the local level, had converted political office into a “rent-seeking” enterprise at a grand scale. They used their access to power to channel soft loans, public contracts, licenses, franchises and monopolies their way. The purpose of this rent-seeking was to enrich themselves and dispense patronage to buy votes or eliminate opponents using private armies.

Marcos simply centralized rent-seeking and patronage dispensing ability to himself, while turning the military into his own private army.

After the demise of the Marcos regime, old political families whom he had suppressed or co-opted saw the restoration of their privileges under the post-EDSA political order. They were joined by some new political bosses belonging to the yellow forces that overthrew Marcos. These newcomers had to learn quickly how to master the art of rent-seeking and patronage to compete against the older, more entrenched dynasties, and start their own.

A study by CenPEG found that from 1907 to 2004, corresponding to the first Philippine Assembly to the present Congress, 160 families have had two or more family members serving in them. By 2010, 178 families controlled 73 out of 80 provinces, 68% of the house of representatives, and 80% of the senate. About half of them came from the pre-EDSA republic, the other half from the post-EDSA regime. These dynasties had ties to virtually every lucrative sector of the economy: from logging and mining, to property development and banking.

With the emergence of Duterte, and the disgruntled, angry movement that he represents, the potential for re-imagining the Philippines has again become possible.

I say “again” because this is the sixth attempt to fashion a new charter, after the Malolos convention (1899), the American Commonwealth period (1935), Marcos Con-Con (1974), and the two post-EDSA iterations (1986 and 1987). If the next constitution is ratified in 2018, it will be the sixth republic in 120 years.

In all this time, it doesn’t seem much has changed. The same old elites, so adept at ingratiating themselves to whoever is in power, are lining up behind Duterte, forming a supermajority in the lower house. Since the delegates to the con-con have to be elected, there is no doubt that the same political dynasties will dominate.

They would most likely lift term limits on elective positions (something introduced by the 1987 constitutional assembly), resist moves to impose an anti-political dynasty provision, oppose the lifting of restrictions on foreign investment to protect their business interests, and rig any form of political party and campaign finance reform to favor incumbents.

Without such features being embedded in the new charter, the shift to a parliamentary, federal form of government envisioned by Duterte could simply lead to a greater consolidation of political and economic power in the hands of the same old elite that have wielded it for over a century.

Without a catalyst or agent of change, it will be difficult to imagine a situation where the Philippines can extricate itself from the control of a privileged few.

]]>http://blogwatch.tv/2016/05/re-imagining-the-philippines/feed/017567The 2015 SALN of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte: P23.5M net worthhttp://blogwatch.tv/2016/05/the-2015-saln-of-mayor-rodrigo-duterte-p23-5m-net-worth/
http://blogwatch.tv/2016/05/the-2015-saln-of-mayor-rodrigo-duterte-p23-5m-net-worth/#respondMon, 02 May 2016 11:40:09 +0000http://blogwatch.tv/?p=174942015 SALN: P23.5M net worth Duterte lists P14.8-M cash in bank, tops rival bets in growth of wealth By Malou Mangahas Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism SO HOW much is he really worth? According to his 2015 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth or SALN, presidential frontrunner and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte has a net worth for 2015 of only P23,514,569.93, or a slight P1,54-million increase in his declared net worth in 2014. Duterte’s cash on hand/in bank, according to his latest SALN, was just P14,839,69.93, as of Dec. 31, 2015. Duterte filed his SALN for 2015 early — on April 21, 2016, or nine days ahead of the April 30 deadline. (see below) Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, 2015 SALN by BlogWatch.ph In contrast, until yesterday noon, Vice President Jejomar ‘Jojo’ C. Binay, another candidate for president, had yet to file his SALN for 2015 with the Office of the Ombudsman. Meanwhile, there is a waiting period of 10 working days to secure the 2015 SALNs of fellow presidentiables Senators Grace Poe and Miriam Defensor-Santiago – that is, if they have already submitted these. Former Interior and Local Governments Secretary Manuel ‘Mar’ Roxas II, though, will not [...]

According to his 2015 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth or SALN, presidential frontrunner and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte has a net worth for 2015 of only P23,514,569.93, or a slight P1,54-million increase in his declared net worth in 2014.

Duterte’s cash on hand/in bank, according to his latest SALN, was just P14,839,69.93, as of Dec. 31, 2015.

Duterte filed his SALN for 2015 early — on April 21, 2016, or nine days ahead of the April 30 deadline. (see below)

In contrast, until yesterday noon, Vice President Jejomar ‘Jojo’ C. Binay, another candidate for president, had yet to file his SALN for 2015 with the Office of the Ombudsman. Meanwhile, there is a waiting period of 10 working days to secure the 2015 SALNs of fellow presidentiables Senators Grace Poe and Miriam Defensor-Santiago – that is, if they have already submitted these. Former Interior and Local Governments Secretary Manuel ‘Mar’ Roxas II, though, will not have to file a SALN this time around, since he is no longer a government official.

Interest in Duterte’s SALNs has surged following allegations that he has bank accounts through which hundreds of millions of pesos have supposed passed through. For sure, certified bank records may be needed for anyone to prove or disprove such allegations. But what Duterte’s SALNs do show is a phenomenal growth rate over the last 19 years.

The earliest SALN Duterte had filed that is on PCIJ’s archives is for the year 1997, in which he declared a net worth of only P897,792.

The Davao City mayor’s net worth of P23.5 million for 2015 redounds to a 2,519 percent increase, or a phenomenal growth rate of 132.6 percent on average per year, over the last 19 years.

By comparison, Binay’s net worth grew from P2.9 million in 1989 to P60.20 million in his SALN for 2014, for a cumulative increase of 1,975 percent in 25 years, or an average of 79 per cent per year.

Roxas, the administration Liberal Party’s candidate for president, reported a net worth of P12.76 million in 1993, and grew this to P202.08 million in 2014. This results in a 1,483 percent growth in 21 years, or 70.61 percent on average per a year.

Defensor-Santiago, candidate for president of the People’s Reform Party, showed a modest uptick in her declared net worth — from P48.00 million in 1994 to P73.03 million in 2014, for a 52.14 percent growth in 20 years, or 2.6 percent annual average growth.

And then there is the case of Poe, presidential bet of the Galing at Puso slate, which is one of progressively declining wealth. Poe declared a net worth of P152.5 million in 2010, but this slipped steadily to P89.46 million in her SALN for 2014, for a net regression of 41.34 percent in four years, or negative 10.32 percent on average per year.

Although far from being “perfect” financial reporting instruments, SALNs often contain interesting information about a public official or candidate’s wealth, regardless of whether or not the official or candidate had been forthright about all the details.

For instance, in his latest SALN for 2015 that PCIJ obtained from the Office of the Ombudsman, Duterte said he also owned:

P3 million flat in “investments”;

P350,000 in household appliances and furniture;

P300,000 in jewelry; and

four pieces of residential real property worth only P480,000 by acquisition cost.

He said he acquired these lots, all located in Bago Aplaya, Davao City, between 1995 and 1996.

Also declared among his “personal properties” are two vehicles — a Toyota RAV 4 acquired in 1996 for supposedly P800,000, and a “Volks Sedan” acquired in 1978 supposedly for P40,000.

In a separate page, however, Duterte listed a second set of “assets, liabilities, and net worth” and additional properties “including those of the spouse and unmarried children below 18 years of age being in the declarant’s household.”

Duterte named his 11-year-old daughter by his second partner in this separate assets list.

On this list are five real properties. Duterte said three lots are located in Maa, Davao City, one house and lot in Matina, Davao City, all reportedly acquired from 1997 to 1998, and a second house and lot located in Buhangin, Davao City that he said he purchased in 2008.

Yet still on another page of his 2015 SALN, Duterte listed a third set of real properties that he noted were “purchased through the exclusive funds of (the mother of his 11-year-old daughter), Cielito S. Avancena.”

This third set of properties includes three lots — two agricultural and one residential — located in Matina, Malagos, and Catigan, all in Davao City; and two house and lots in Matina; Davao City.

Duterte valued this final set of real properties at P3.08 million, by acquisition cost.
On this separate page, too, Duterte listed a “personal loan” of P1.2 million from a certain “Samuel Uy”.

In his SALN for 2014, Duterte had declared a net worth of P21 ,971,732.62, including combined real and personal properties of P22,971,732.62, and liabilities of only P1 million to a certain “Samuel Uy”.

In his 2015 SALN, Duterte declared his business interest in two entities — as incorporator since 1997 of Honda Cars, with business address at Catolico Street, General Santos City; and as incorporator since 2012 of Poeng Yue Foundation, Inc., with business address on San Pedro Street in Davao City.

As in his 2014 SALN, in his 2015 SALN Duterte listed having six relatives in the government service. They are:

Son Paolo Z. Duterte, vice mayor of Davao City;

Daughter-in-law January N. Duterte, councilor of Davao City;

Brother Benjamin R. Duterte, his private secretary at the Davao City Mayor’s Office;

“Balae” Agnes Reyes-Carpio, mother of the spouse of his daughter Sara, Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals

Nineteen years ago, when he was a congressman from Davao City, Duterte had

declared owning seven real properties that he said he acquired for a combined cost of P603,700; and personal properties worth P3,250,092. The latter included, he said, “cash on hand/in bank” of only P189,245; cars and motorcycles worth P1,206,482; and “investments” of P1,556,250.

That same year, 1997, Duterte said he had “miscellaneous payables” amounting to P2,956,000.

Two years earlier in 1995, he said he invested a total of P1,556,250 in “Mister Donuts” outlets located in Ulas, Agado, P. Reyes, and Ecoland, all in Davao City.

Notably, like his net worth, Duterte’s “cash on hand/in bank” has charted an upward trek in the last two decades, save for one year.

In 1998, Duterte said he had P339,245 “cash on hand/in bank” and net worth of

P1,047,792 as of December that year.

In 1999, he declared exactly the same amount of “cash on hand/in bank”, but also a bigger net worth of P1,447,542.

In 2000, his “cash on hand/in bank” grew to P512,135, and his net worth, P1,766,722.

In 2002, it climbed to P889,441, and his net worth, P2,834,028.

In 2004, it jumped to P3,220,312, and his net worth, P7,024,899.

In 2005, it rose to P4,621,193, and his net worth, P8,425,780.

In 2006, it became P6,071,460, and his net worth, P8,650,627.

In 2007, he declared it at P7,079,199, and his net worth, P9,685,366.

In 2008, he put it at P7,514,124. This excludes what he declared to be P1,138,890 in premiums paid for educational plans; P1,305,953 in “private inheritance”; P454,500 in premiums paid for pre-need plans; P686,833 in time deposits; and P65,625 in stocks.

His declared net worth for 2008 was P15,315,925.08.

In 2009, the amount of Duterte’s “cash on hand/in bank” climbed to P9,164,204.32, and his net worth, P16,616,005.40.

In 2011, he put it at P11,155,123.12, and his net worth, P18,930,123.12.

In 2014, he declared it to be P13,846,732.62, and his net worth, P21,971,732.62.

In his latest SALN for 2015, Duterte said his “cash on hand/in bank” was all of P14,839,69.93. — With research by Vino Lucero and Davinci S. Maru, PCIJ, May 2016

]]>http://blogwatch.tv/2016/05/the-2015-saln-of-mayor-rodrigo-duterte-p23-5m-net-worth/feed/017494An assessment of policy statements on health, education, Job creation & food securityhttp://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/an-assessment-of-policy-statements-on-health-education-job-creation-food-security/
http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/an-assessment-of-policy-statements-on-health-education-job-creation-food-security/#respondSat, 30 Apr 2016 02:14:04 +0000http://blogwatch.tv/?p=17472As part of our #Election2016 series called “Public Choice”, we analyzed the policies of the presidential candidates in the area of Health, Job Creation, Education, and Food security. A survey conducted by Pulse Asia back in December 2015 found that health was the leading personal concern among voters with 62% of respondents saying staying healthy and free of illness was a most urgent personal concern of theirs, ahead of finishing school or providing an education for their children (48%), securing a well-paying job or source of income (43%), and having enough to eat everyday (41%). These personal concerns are also revealed in NEDA’s “Ambisyon Natin 2040” Report. The report shows 79.2 percent of Filipinos want to live a “simple and comfortable life.” This includes a college education for all children; to earn enough money to purchase day-to-day needs; own a car and a medium-sized home; own a business; have time to relax with family and friends; and be able to take occasional trips around the country. Emmanuel Doy Santos analyzed the policies of these four key concerns. They provide an assessment based on principled policy platforms. Take time to compare each candidate’s policies. You can also view the excel file here. [...]

As part of our #Election2016 series called “Public Choice”, we analyzed the policies of the presidential candidates in the area of Health, Job Creation, Education, and Food security.

A survey conducted by Pulse Asia back in December 2015 found that health was the leading personal concern among voters with 62% of respondents saying staying healthy and free of illness was a most urgent personal concern of theirs, ahead of finishing school or providing an education for their children (48%), securing a well-paying job or source of income (43%), and having enough to eat everyday (41%).

These personal concerns are also revealed in NEDA’s “Ambisyon Natin 2040” Report. The report shows 79.2 percent of Filipinos want to live a “simple and comfortable life.” This includes a college education for all children; to earn enough money to purchase day-to-day needs; own a car and a medium-sized home; own a business; have time to relax with family and friends; and be able to take occasional trips around the country.

Emmanuel Doy Santos analyzed the policies of these four key concerns. They provide an assessment based on principled policy platforms. Take time to compare each candidate’s policies. You can also view the excel file here.

Click the links below to read more on the assessment of their policy statements.

Together with We-Watch, Blog Watch and Task Force Pollwatch, Kontradaya is a broad campaign of various organizations and individuals ; religious , artists, concerned citizens, activists, youth and students, lawyers, IT experts, teachers, government employees and ordinary Filipinos who are committed against election and the failure of elections. If you want to be part of our monitoring efforts, here are the details.

]]>http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/a-guide-to-our-2016-election-monitoring-votereportph/feed/017461Why Mar Roxas?http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/why-mar-roxas/
http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/why-mar-roxas/#respondWed, 27 Apr 2016 00:13:02 +0000http://blogwatch.tv/?p=17450By Cocoy Dayao, as first published in his Facebook page on March 29, 2016. Coarse hand It was my first impression of Mar Roxas as he gave a firm handshake. I had the privilege to meet Mar Roxas a few months ago over dinner with a few friends. Mar Roxas arrived without fanfare. He walked into the room. We all stood up, one by one, as we recognized the person who just arrived. Mr. Roxas went around the room, and we each waited for our turn. He shook every hand before finally heading to the buffet line to get his own food. We meet celebrities, and we think they are larger than life. Mar Roxas struck me as profoundly, a representative of decent Filipinos everywhere, even though Mar Roxas and his family enjoy a worry free life. Mar Roxas spoke of course. That’s when you really see him shine as a leader of men. You could see the thoughtfulness in his character, and how Roxas worries about the Filipino’s future. Precisely the kind of leadership one expects– putting the troops before his own wants and desires. Why should Mar Roxas be President then? I had never worked for Mar Roxas. [...]

It was my first impression of Mar Roxas as he gave a firm handshake. I had the privilege to meet Mar Roxas a few months ago over dinner with a few friends. Mar Roxas arrived without fanfare. He walked into the room. We all stood up, one by one, as we recognized the person who just arrived. Mr. Roxas went around the room, and we each waited for our turn. He shook every hand before finally heading to the buffet line to get his own food.

We meet celebrities, and we think they are larger than life. Mar Roxas struck me as profoundly, a representative of decent Filipinos everywhere, even though Mar Roxas and his family enjoy a worry free life.

Mar Roxas spoke of course. That’s when you really see him shine as a leader of men. You could see the thoughtfulness in his character, and how Roxas worries about the Filipino’s future. Precisely the kind of leadership one expects– putting the troops before his own wants and desires.

Why should Mar Roxas be President then?

I had never worked for Mar Roxas. I saw only Mar Roxas the person through the prism of those who do know him best. Those who see him behind the the veil of public perception.

Secretary Edwin Lacierda talked about Mar Roxas. He worked with him for years, but not prior to Aquino’s Administration. And whenever he would tell stories about what he and Mar Roxas were up to, it was always a story about two brothers.
My favourite was something Secretary Lacierda shared on his Facebook wall. Every week, both Mar Roxas, and Edwin Lacierda have a ritual. They would run together in Camp Crame.

Running is Mar Roxas’ way of reenergising.

Both Secretary Lacierda and Mar Roxas were running. Mar Roxas said, “Edwin, lets finish this course together.”
“Let us do one minute of run, then one minute of walk, then one minute of run and a minute of walk until we get over this difficult portion,” Mar Roxas added.

“Mar could have continued on to run this difficult phase, and push himself to steel his resistance,” Secretary Lacierda narrated.

“Mar could have left me to walk the remainder of the exercise, and I would have happy indusged myself with a leisurely stride.”

That’s not what Mar Roxas did.

Mar Roxas kept pace with Edwin Lacierda instead. Mar Roxas ran with Edwin Lacierda all throughout the difficult phase of the run. Mar Roxas made sure Edwin Lacierda was right there with him. That’s who he is. A friend. And like the true leader of men that he was, Roxas made sure his buddy Edwin would finish the course.

Walang iwanan.

Secretary Lacierda’s Mar Roxas story is one about character. It showed who Mar Roxas really is at his core. A friend. A brother. He wouldn’t leave you behind. He is the kind of leader that puts the interest of others before his own. He is the kind of leader who would carry you to victory.

“Twenty-two years in politics,” Undersecretary Abi Valte began her Mar story. “Mar Roxas has seen it all. It is really difficult to be in government because temptation is all around you.”

Atty. Abi is a relative newbie to government service. She joined government service as a member of the Aquino administration. Undersecretary Valte narrated some of clever temptation that she experienced in the short time of her government service, and the difficulty in overcoming those challenges. “It’s very easy to give in to the temptation.”
“Mar Roxas has been in government for twenty-two years, and hasn’t a shade of corruption attached to his name. That’s a difficult thing to accomplish,” Atty Abi concluded.

My favourite story from Atty Abi would be early on in the Aquino administration. They were in Capiz with PNoy. It was a Friday, and the season was Lent. The President is known to abstain from meat during Fridays of Lent. Of course, nobody ate meat. It was all fish. There wasn’t a drop of meat served. At that point, Atty Abi’s never been to Capiz. Now, Capiz is famous for its Bachoy. And Atty Abi really wanted to try it out.

Mar Roxas understands people profoundly. Behind the nice guy, he is observant and introspective. Roxas recognises what drives people, and where they come from that only a real leader of men could comprehend.

Paolo Roxas, Son of Mar

“My dad was pissed at me,” recalled Paolo Roxas, son of Mar. Paolo promised his dad some father-son bonding time. The two were suppose to meet at the driving range. Paolo overslept. When Paolo eventually got up to meet his dad in the driving range, the older Roxas was fuming. It was a teaching moment for father and son.
“You don’t waste other people’s time, Paolo.”

That day was the most Mar Roxas was mad at his son.

It is a lesson, Paolo Roxas says, he took to heart.

Paolo is the twenty-two year old only son of Mar Roxas. They say you learn a lot by observing other people’s kids. Paolo is a remarkable young man. He is as old as Mar Roxas’ career in politics. Already an accomplished public speaker, with a keen and inquisitive mind, the younger Roxas took time off from his university to campaign for his dad. Paolo’s team of three often hooks up with the main campaign to do Market runs. Paolo proxies for his dad. Almost everyday the younger Roxas is shaking hands with the public market vendors.

The Roxas-Robredo Platform

Not wasting other people’s time is something Mar Roxas acts on everyday. The Roxas-Robredo platform, is a well thought. It is a platform that focuses on the Filipino Family. Roxas is the only one of the four candidates who has thoroughly thought about what the next six years would be about.

Mar Roxas says his platform of governance is a systematic approach. It is a strategy that is based on accurate data, and facts. It is also a strategy that is an authentic, and compassionate service to ordinary Filipinos.

This is Mar Roxas with a plan.

This is also typical Mar Roxas.

One “innovation” Roxas came out with while Interior Secretary was to have accurate, and audited police blotter. As simple as that, Mar Roxas reduced crime in Metro Manila. Seven hundred and sixteen of the nine hundred and forty six most wanted, high-profile criminals were arrested. From 919 average number of crimes per week reported before lambat-sibat, the figure fell to 350 weekly. Between November 30 and December 6, 289 crimes were reported. This statistic resulted in a 60% drop in robbery, theft, catnapping and motorcycle-napping in the National Capital Region. The program was so successful, by the time he stepped down as Interior Secretary, Oplan Lambat Sibat was being cascaded to other regions.

Over the course of his career in politics, Mar Roxas had been instrumental in many big moments including the passing of the Cheaper Medicine Act as well as reducing taxes, something none of his competitors can claim.
The Roxas campaign is also focused on job creation. “I’m Mr. Trabaho, now.” Mar Roxas says. Like a mantra, the Roxas campaign is focused on delivering the message that it is about jobs. Jobs. Jobs.

Roxas has done it before.

Job creation.

Roxas is known as the father of the Business Process Outsourcing business in the country that now provides over a million jobs to Filipinos. He did this as Department of Trade and Industry Chief. As Trade chief, he was also instrumental in delivering a “transformation plan and assistance package” for the garment industry that also resulted in job creation.
In 2010, Mar Roxas lost. It was the first in his long career in public service. Edwin Lacierda recalled Mar saying later that the loss was a painful experience. For months after, Roxas and Korina were looking at the butiki in the ceiling, pondering what was next.

Why does Mar Roxas want to go through another gruelling fight?

The Roxas family, explained Mar, wants for nothing. He knows that Paolo Roxas will have a worry-free life he so chooses. Mar Roxas has already equipped Paolo for a life where he doesn’t have to worry about the bills. His wife and mother are in similar position. Mar Roxas doesn’t need to worry about them. They will all live a comfortable life.

Why does Mar Roxas want to put himself and his family for another gruelling fight?

“For this campaign, he’s leaving everything on the floor,” Paolo Roxas said of his dad.

Mar Roxas says he wants every Filipino to have the same opportunities that he does.

As Torch Bearer for Daang Matuwid, Mar Roxas carries it well. Daang Matuwid more than anything is a philosophy of governance that puts the decent Filipino, first. And 60% of Filipinos seem to agree.

Daang Matuwid has resulted in more roads paved; more schools put up, and more things done for infrastructure than ever before. This isn’t merely focused on Luzon or Metro Manila. The development is spread across the entire Philippines, and it isn’t enough. The fast paced infrastructure development translated to a per year increase on infrastructure vis-a-vis, GDP.
This Boom created by Daang Matuwid is sharply felt in Metro Manila. The north-south connector road can’t wait to be completed to help ease traffic to a metropolis bursting on the seems. The Economist described the situation as “Rising car ownership and appalling transport policies block the roads.”

“The biggest reason Manila’s roads move so slowly,” The Economist wrote, “Is that so many people now drive. The economy of the Philippines grew by 5.8% last year, and a swelling middle class is buying lots more cars (see chart). Driving, nicer and often quicker than public transport, is encouraged by minimum-parking rules, imported from America, which oblige developers to provide lots of parking spaces. Cars are thought to carry about 30% of people in the metropolis but account for 72% of traffic.”

It is an honest assessment of the problem of Metro Manila.

Transportation chief for less than 10 months, Mar Roxas set into motion some of the construction going around Metro Manila such as the North-South Connector that bridges the northern expressway with the southern expressway. Put it simply, it is another EDSA in the works that promises to speed travel time up.

Mar Roxas spent most of his time in the Aquino cabinet as Interior Secretary. He was President Aquino’s go-to-fix it man. In many ways, Mar Roxas operated as PNoy’s Vice President in all but name, and pay grade. It was Roxas, and Defense Chief Gazmin for example, who oversaw the operation in Zamboanga that resulted in the surgical and successful rescue of hostages by Nur Misuari’s Moro National Liberation Front. He stayed in Zamboanga for three months.

The presidency is about character.

Mar Roxas’ twenty-two years in public service is a record for working for the people. It was about job creation as Trade chief. It was about giving Cheaper Medicines, and lowering taxes— the only candidate that has done so in deed. It is a career that has put decent Filipinos, first.

Is Mar Roxas, a leader of men?

During the 2nd Presidential debate Vice President Binay, Senator Grace Poe, and Mayor Rody Duterte wanted to change the debate rules mid-flight. They wanted to change the rules to suit the moment. The Vice President for example wanted to give a reaction to a line of questioning from Senator Poe to Mar Roxas. Duterte agreed, as did Senator Poe. Perhaps, this part of the debate was the most telling about Mar Roxas’ character.

“Mr. VP,” TV5’s Luchi Cruz Valdez began, “I think we all agreed before we started the face off that there will be no more reactions from the other two candidates. So for the sake of interest and fair play, once again, I will have to confine it to the sagutan of Sen. Poe and Sec. Mar. And we’re already over-timing here Sen. Poe, so 15 seconds please just on that and another 30 seconds and that’s the last.”

“We are not satisfied by the answer,” interjected Mayor Rody Duterte.

Senator Grace Poe mussed, “I think maybe, okay, why don’t, you know, we’ve given you also certain concessions because we started late. Why don’t we give also a chance to…”

“Sure. If there is a consensus here,” Luchi Cruz Valdez said. “Sec. Mar, are you in agreement that they will also react?”
“But he’s also one. And two of them wants to or three,” Senator Grace Poe interjected.

Mar Roxas is a decent Filipino. He isn’t an ordinary Filipino— not by birth, nor by circumstance. Mar Roxas simply looks ordinary, and bland. He isn’t as colourful as his others. He likes his numbers, but even more so, he thinks very deeply about ordinary Filipinos. All this is proven ground since Mar Roxas has been placed in numerous positions of leadership in his over two decades as a public servant. He is a man over the course of twenty-two years in politics has proven time and again, he would lead by example for decent Filipinos.

That’s Mar Roxas’ character. It comes with a track record of accomplishments. I don’t have to agree with Mar Roxas 100% of the time to say he is the next, best President. There is one thing though above all else why my vote goes to Mar Roxas. Mar Roxas, in my humble opinion— agree with him or not— will always put Filipinos, first. When it is four A.M. and the Chinese come knocking at our door, I have faith that Mar Roxas would put the interest of Filipinos first, whatever it may be. When making decisions for our country, I have faith that Mar Roxas would put Filipinos first before his own pocket, or his self-interest. I have faith that Mar Roxas would create opportunities for Filipinos to grow.

“The closest analogy I can give to what a great leader is, is like being a parent,” Simon Sinek said. “If you think about what being a great parent is, what do you want? What makes a great parent? We want to give our child opportunities, education, discipline them when necessary, all so that they can grow up and achieve more than we could for ourselves. Great leaders want exactly the same thing. They want to provide their people opportunity, education, discipline when necessary, build their self-confidence, give them the opportunity to try and fail, all so that they could achieve more than we could ever imagine for ourselves.”

This is exactly who Mar Roxas is. He’s a parent who wants to put Filipinos first. He wants to provide people opportunity, education, and as seen in the second debate has real discipline. Mar Roxas wants to build up the confidence of every Filipino. He’ll run with us like he did with Edwin Lacierda. He’ll give us the opportunity to achieve more than we could ever imagine Filipinos could. Mar Roxas’ track record, and his platform for governance is exactly that; to create opportunities for people to achieve more for ourselves. With an economy growing as it is growing today, we need a man on the helm who not only has the gravitas to stand eye-to-eye with world leaders, but a man who would put decent Filipinos first.

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http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/why-mar-roxas/feed/0174505 Transformations Needed in the Philippineshttp://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/5-transformations-needed-in-the-philippines/
http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/5-transformations-needed-in-the-philippines/#respondFri, 22 Apr 2016 23:30:44 +0000http://blogwatch.tv/?p=17415At election time, candidates like to talk of change. Sobra na, tama na, palitan na! Tunay na pagbabago! are frequently used slogans. But why is it that the more things change, the more they stay the same? Could it be that elections in the Philippines are mostly about a change in personalities, with no real change agenda? Here are five types of change that if pursued correctly would truly transform lives in the Philippines. Agricultural transformation The Philippines will not transform itself into a prosperous economy unless our agricultural smallholders are transformed from subsistence farmers planting traditional crops into self-reliant producers of high value varieties. A large share of our labor pool (around 31%) is still employed in agriculture which accounts for only 11% of the economy. Improving farm productivity and earnings is the first transformation needed in the Philippines. East Asian industrialization was built on the foundation of a productive farm sector. The Philippines has lagged behind other countries like China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia in promoting growth in agriculture. Investments are needed in research and development, technology, human resources, transport and rural infrastructure, supported by a sound legal environment that ensures contract enforcement and secures land rights. Government has [...]

At election time, candidates like to talk of change. Sobra na, tama na, palitan na! Tunay na pagbabago! are frequently used slogans. But why is it that the more things change, the more they stay the same? Could it be that elections in the Philippines are mostly about a change in personalities, with no real change agenda? Here are five types of change that if pursued correctly would truly transform lives in the Philippines.

Agricultural transformation

The Philippines will not transform itself into a prosperous economy unless our agricultural smallholders are transformed from subsistence farmers planting traditional crops into self-reliant producers of high value varieties. A large share of our labor pool (around 31%) is still employed in agriculture which accounts for only 11% of the economy.

Improving farm productivity and earnings is the first transformation needed in the Philippines. East Asian industrialization was built on the foundation of a productive farm sector. The Philippines has lagged behind other countries like China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia in promoting growth in agriculture.

Investments are needed in research and development, technology, human resources, transport and rural infrastructure, supported by a sound legal environment that ensures contract enforcement and secures land rights. Government has to overcome its urban bias and support the sector, while moving from price subsidies to providing better social safety nets and services.

Industrial transformation

Growth without industrial transformation will only lead to a situation where households sit precariously above the poverty line, at risk of falling below it. Industry, and manufacturing in particular, has the capacity to offer high paying jobs for the broad, semi-skilled sections of the labor force.

Manufacturing not only has more linkages to other sectors of the economy, the jobs from it pay a lot more and add greater value to the economy compared to jobs in agriculture or services. To remain competitive, the sector has to upgrade itself, diversify and move up the value chain. It needs to avoid a ‘race to the bottom’ through contractualization and lax safety and environmental standards. The manufacturing renaissance that is occurring of late has to be accelerated even further to produce more inclusive growth.

Governance mechanisms needs to be developed whereby government is able to identify sub-sectors, in which there is a ‘revealed comparative advantage’, and encourage players to move into related products and services requiring similar productive capabilities. Labor market institutions could be developed that would provide ‘flexicurity’ that would give employers flexibility in hiring, while giving stability of incomes and employment to workers.

Energy transformation

As one of the most vulnerable countries to severe weather occurrences brought about by climate change, the Philippines needs to transition to a low carbon economy. It is projected to have the most carbon intensive energy mix in Asia by 2020 with about 56% of its power generated by coal fired power plants (up from 42.5% currently and 32% at year-end 2014) . This would be a consequence of the 23 coal plants that are going to be operational within the next five years to meet growing demand. In Luzon alone, coal would account for 75% of the energy mix by 2020. This will pose significant risks to health and the environment.

The current share of renewable sources of energy (geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and solar) is 25%, down from 32% of installed capacity at year-end 2014, and 26% is derived from gas up from 16% at year-end 2014, sourced from Malampaya, which will be depleted by 2024. Projects to import liquefied natural gas have been delayed. The use of coal to meet intermediate needs will become uneconomical due to low utilization, leading to inadequate recovery of investments.

A proper energy policy framework needs to be put in place that would factor in the mitigation cost of carbon emissions and meet the expected energy requirements of the country. This policy framework has to include the transport sector, which is the biggest energy consuming sector. Fuel diversification through biofuels and natural gas, and the propagation of electric vehicles needs to be pursued vigorously by government in the years ahead, supported by a comprehensive transport and land use plan.

Social transformation

Between 2016 and 2050 the median age of the Philippines will rise from 24 years to 32 years, with the youth dependency ratio expected to fall from 1:2 to 1:3 during this time. Rather than 1 out of every 2 being in the workforce, there will be two out of every 3 Filipinos looking for work. This means more people potentially earning and contributing to the economy.

This ‘demographic dividend’ may only be reaped if we concentrate efforts in improving the availability, accessibility and quality of social services designed to build our human capital. Only by investing in our people, giving them equal opportunity to pursue their ambitions, can Philippine society become more inclusive.

This would mean providing well-targeted social insurance to families living below the poverty line to improve their nutritional intake and keep their children in school. The current program needs to improve its target mechanisms that currently allows non-poor households to make up to 30% of recipients. It also means addressing the gaps in health, education, housing and sanitation services.

Political transformation

The Philippine government, from its inception has been dominated by an aristocratic ruling class. Of the 178 dominant political families that occupied elective office in 2010, 100 or 56% were from wealthy landed elites, while 78 or 44% rose after the first EDSA people power uprising of 1986. These families occupied 68% of the seats in the house of representatives and 80% of the senate. About 91% of partylist representatives were millionaires, and 10 of them were from political clans.

About 94% of provinces (73 out of 80) had political dynasties in 2010. Six of these provinces were dominated by a single family. Seventeen provinces had a governor and congressman from the same family (eight of them had only one congressional district). This year, there are 558 candidates running unopposed, to fill national and local positions (there are 1,800 elective positions overall). Of this total, 32 are for congressmen, 215 for city or municipal mayor, 249 for city or municipal vice mayor, 31 for municipal councilor, 12 for governor, 11 for provincial vice-governor and eight for Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

The over-concentration of political power has led to monopolization of ownership in various sectors of the economy, including mining, logging, sugar, tobacco and property development. These families have links to media, banking and finance and tie-ups with local and foreign businesses. With such an incestuous relationship, “regulatory capture” by insiders prevents outsiders from participating in the system. It is time for us to realize that this form of political and economic inbreeding is no longer healthy. It is time to introduce political and electoral reforms that would democratize political positions in the country.

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http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/5-transformations-needed-in-the-philippines/feed/017415Weighing up the Candidates on Food Securityhttp://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/weighing-up-the-candidates-on-food-security/
http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/weighing-up-the-candidates-on-food-security/#respondTue, 19 Apr 2016 00:30:20 +0000http://blogwatch.tv/?p=17401Part of an #Election2016 series called “Public Choice” HUNGRY MOUTHS TO FEED The Philippines has a growing population of 102 million as of 2016, which is expected to rise to 148 million by 2050. It faces the challenge of meeting its food security needs for the foreseeable future. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Philippines ranked 53rd out of 104 countries in 2015 in terms of managing hunger, based on its Global Hunger Index, which looks at food supply, child undernourishment, and child mortality. While other ASEAN neighbors such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam have made great strides in lowering hunger to “moderate” levels over the course of the last quarter century, the situation in the Philippines and Indonesia is still classified as “serious” by IFPRI, although the Philippines is on the cusp of lowering hunger to moderate levels (see featured chart above). The causes of hunger are manifold. The Kidapawan protests in North Cotabato highlight the vulnerability of rural farming communities, most especially those near conflict areas, to suffer from hunger. According to the World Food Program, poverty, lack of investment in agriculture, war and displacement, climate change and weather, unstable markets and food wastage [...]

The Philippines has a growing population of 102 million as of 2016, which is expected to rise to 148 million by 2050. It faces the challenge of meeting its food security needs for the foreseeable future. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Philippines ranked 53rd out of 104 countries in 2015 in terms of managing hunger, based on its Global Hunger Index, which looks at food supply, child undernourishment, and child mortality.

While other ASEAN neighbors such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam have made great strides in lowering hunger to “moderate” levels over the course of the last quarter century, the situation in the Philippines and Indonesia is still classified as “serious” by IFPRI, although the Philippines is on the cusp of lowering hunger to moderate levels (see featured chart above).

The causes of hunger are manifold. The Kidapawan protests in North Cotabato highlight the vulnerability of rural farming communities, most especially those near conflict areas, to suffer from hunger. According to the World Food Program, poverty, lack of investment in agriculture, war and displacement, climate change and weather, unstable markets and food wastage all play a role in causing hunger.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Philippines did manage to lower the prevalence of undernourishment by half. Between 1990-92 and 2014-16, undernourishment went down from 26.3% to 13.5% of the population. The number of undernourished Filipinos also went down from 16.7 million to 13.7 million during this time.

According to UNICEF, child stuntingin the Philippines was still high at 30.3% in 2012-13, although this is down from 43.3% in 1989-90. Stunting among children under five is more prevalent in rural areas at 35% compared to 26% for urban dwellers, and it is much higher among the poorest families at 45% compared to the wealthiest at 13%.

Stunting not only affects physical growth but cognitive development, and is irreversible. This leads to lifelong disadvantage for those that suffer from it, as future schooling, employment and income prospects may be affected. To make Philippine society more inclusive in the years ahead would require improving the nutritional intake of disadvantaged households. Only then would we reap the “demographic dividend” as a greater proportion of Filipinos enters the workforce.

WHAT DOES FOOD SECURITY MEAN?

From the World Health Organization (WHO) comes the following definition of food security:

when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.

Providing food security means addressing the following factors:

Availability or having an adequate supply of food. This is done by increasing the yield or output of our farms, drought-proofing our farming techniques, improving post-harvest handling, transport and storage capacity, and meeting supply gaps by importing food from overseas.

Accessibility or having the means to meet daily dietary needs, through work and/or income support, and by building better infrastructure (i.e. farm-to-market roads and ports) to reduce the cost of transporting goods, giving consumers access to adequate, quality food.

Utilization or being able to “ingest and metabolize food through adequate diet, clean water, good sanitation and health care to reach a state of nutritional well-being where all physiological needs are met.” Overweight and undernourished is a growing phenomenon in poor countries that needs to be addressed.

WHAT THE CANDIDATES ARE PROPOSING

Now that we have seen the importance of food security, let us turn to the candidates and weigh up their policy proposals. The policies cited here were taken from the Inquirer’s election series, Agenda for the Next President page on food security.

Mar Roxas

The former interior secretary is credited with keeping raw sugar VAT exempt. Increased sugar intake is responsible for causing a rising proportion of Filipinos being overweight, which in turn makes them prone to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. Providing fiscal incentives to raw sugar growers encourages the intake of sugary products which is the opposite of what government should be doing. The following are his proposals for addressing food security, along with some brief comments:

Policy Proposals

Assessment

Provide irrigation.

Nothing new. Of the 3 million hectares of irrigable land in the Philippines, only 1.7 million or 57% have been irrigated as of December 2014, according to the National Irrigation Administration or NIA. Some regions are better irrigated than others. Central Vizayas and the Cordillera region each had 92% of their irrigable land covered while the ARMM only had 29% covered. In 2016, the government allotted 32.7 billion pesos to NIA for expanding irrigation in 19,700 has., restoring irrigation systems to 14,700 has. and repairing systems covering 76,000 has. The budget was increased by 30 billion after Kiko Pangilinan assumed office in 2014 as secretary in charge of food security.

Invest in post-harvest facilities.

Vague. Nothing new. The government already invests in post-harvest facilities through the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), which runs the National Organic Agriculture Program, National Cold Chain Program, Establishment of Agricultural Tramlines, and Grain Drying Services through the PhilMech Drying Center.

Increase rice production.

Vague. Nothing new. Cereal production has increased from 16.9 billion metric tons in 2000 to 25 million mt in 2013, and from 2,580 kg per hectare to 3,500 kg/ha. during this time.

Provide more opportunities for farmers to pull themselves out of poverty.

Vague. Too broad. This is self-explanatory.

Grace Poe

One of the senator’s main “accomplishments” in her first term was the insertion of 3.2 billion pesos in the 2016 budget for a school feeding program. She includes this as one of her main policy proposals for ensuring food security below. We can assume she intends to ramp this up, if she becomes president.

Policy Proposals

Assessment

Train farmers in better rice cultivation and invest in “rice bowls.”

Vague. Nothing new. See comments made above under Roxas.

Ensure crop quantity and quality, and build infrastructure for storage.

Too broad. Nothing new. See comments made above under Roxas.

Develop high-yield rice varieties and other crops, and maximize use of suitable land to boost production.

Nothing new. See comments made above under Roxas.

Set up a multiagency program that will link small farmers to a national school feeding program.

Unnecessary. The school feeding program was studied by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies back in 2010. It was found to be prone to leakages. The Pantawid Pamilya or 4Ps was seen as a more efficient way of helping families obtain the right level of nutrition through income support. A study conducted by the University of the Philippines School of Economics in 2015 found that while overall spending by beneficiaries of 4Ps remained the same, compared to non-beneficiaries, food consumption became more stable and thus more secure. More importantly 4Ps addresses food consumption for children under 5 years of age, which is when irreversible stunting occurs. A study by the World Bank has found it to be effective in reducing the prevalence of stunting.

Introduce a lunch program in elementary and high schools.

Rody Duterte

The main plank in the mayor’s agricultural policy seems to be the construction of a Mindanao rail link that would provide connectivity within the island to transport food crops across the region (see below):

Policy Proposals

Assessment

Identify regions suitable for the growing of needed crops and provide government support to production.

Vague. This is self-explanatory.

Make irrigation free to farmers.

A bit populist. NIA has been studying this after some legislators (e.g. Marcos, Colmenares) called for its abolition. First of all, the collection of fees to pay for the operation and maintenance of irrigation systems has historically been low (not more than 40% before 2012). It suffers from free riding. So it is not as if the government is oppressing farmers with these fees. Secondly, the actual collection has not been enough to pay for the operation and maintenance of the system, which ran at about 3.2 billion pesos in 2013. Abolition of fees would lead to a revenue loss of at least 1.9 billion pesos a year. Before abolishing irrigation service fees, the government first needs to ensure that the continued operation of national irrigation and community irrigation systems are well-funded, or it may fall into disrepair, which would become a perverse outcome of this policy.

Build infrastructure to facilitate transport of produce from farms to markets, including a railway system in Mindanao.

Helpful. The project with an estimated of cost 78 billion pesos based on a study commissioned by NEDA, has elicited the interest of a Japanese and Indonesian firm, interested to finance it. This railway would link most major cities in Mindanao and would provide inter-island connectivity with other ASEAN neighbors. It was first proposed under the Ramos administration.

Nothing new. See comments about post-harvest facilities above under Roxas.

Establish a Department of Fisheries and Marine Resource Management.

Rationale needed. Why is it needed? How would this improve the delivery of service?

Jejomar Binay

The Vice President has offered a number of proposals aimed mostly at addressing the resilience of the agricultural sector to disasters and the effects of climate change. These proposals are listed below with some brief comments:

Policy Proposals

Assessment

Create a program, in coordination with local governments, to build climate-resilient agricultural communities.

Helpful. This is something that is sorely needed. Most projects aimed at building climate resilient agricultural communities in the Philippines are spearheaded by the international community. There is a need to expand national government activity in this area.

Train farmers in innovative ways of raising crops to make them adapt to climate change.Shift agricultural framework from traditional farming to agribusiness to foster diversification and increased production.

Necessary. Diversifying crops to make them more resistant to pest outbreaks and pathogen transmission, which may worsen under climate change, and to improve the productivity and income of farmers is needed, but many barriers exist to prevent it, according to a 2009 discussion paper published by PIDS. Insecure land rights and a bias for traditional crops are some of them. There does not seem to have been any major push for removing these barriers over the last six years.

Incremental improvement. Crop insurance is nothing new to the Philippines. The PCIC, a government corporation has been promoting it since 1978. The proposals made by the candidate are perhaps the next step for improving formal crop insurance. Another possibility is the adoption of better soil management and farming techniques. SEARCA, a research institute based in UP Los Banos looked into the agricultural insurance program in the Philippines. It found that adopting Good Agricultural Practices could substitute for crop insurance (as a form of self-insurance). This is significant because crop insurance, as it stands, has only had a modest impact.

Increase agricultural finance. He plans to do this by allowing CARP titled lands to be used as collateral for loans.

He also intends to develop and pilot innovative financing schemes which would allow farmers and fisherfolk with no collateral to use their biological stock as collateral, and allow corporate buyers of produce to underwrite loan agreements between farmers and banks, who would directly pay their suppliers.

Imaginative. Providing access to finance to farmers in a way helps to address all of the above challenges. The Agricultural Credit Policy Council or ACCP was created in 1986 to move us away from targeted, subsidized loans which were found to be ineffective and wasteful. CARP has been criticized for weakening property rights and reducing the incentives to invest in the farm sector. The reform of CARP mentioned by the Vice President would help address that by strengthening the property rights of CARP beneficiaries. The other proposals of the candidate are innovative variations of chattel mortgages, which are already offered by rural banks to shop owners, and of the “letter of credit” type loans offered by commercial banks to exporters who have received orders from foreign buyers.

The comments above are not meant to provide an endorsement to any one candidate. They show that the candidates still have much to clarify and refine in their policy statements. With the coverage of the race dominated by popularity polls and personalities, this series is meant to fill a void by providing an assessment based on principled policy platforms.

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http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/weighing-up-the-candidates-on-food-security/feed/017401Why SWS mobile survey may be statistically flawedhttp://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/why-sws-mobile-survey-may-be-statistically-flawed/
http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/why-sws-mobile-survey-may-be-statistically-flawed/#respondSun, 17 Apr 2016 10:02:45 +0000http://blogwatch.tv/?p=17394By Dean Jorge Bocobo, first published at his facebook page. Image via interaksyon.com . Some rights reserved ((MANILA – In the Bilang Pilipino April 13 and 14 SWS Mobile Survey Report exclusive to TV5 NETWORK, the presidential aspirants obtained the following scores: Poe 34%, Duterte 33%, Roxas 16%, Binay 15%, and Santiago 1%. For the vice presidential race, it’ s Robredo 30%, Marcos 27%, Escudero 25%, Cayetano 13%, Trillanes 3% and Honasan 1%.)) Image via interaksyon.com . Some rights reserved However before you start rejoicing OR gnashing your teeth, (depending on who you are rooting for) please be aware that this “Mobile Survey” is very different from the normal SWS pre-election surveys in several very significant ways: 1. Although it uses 1200 respondents who were presumably selected randomlty from validated voters lists, the survey re-uses the same sample of voters for each of the subsequent runnings of the survey, making the sample more like a “focus group or panel”. I do believe the normal surveys choose a different randomly selected sample for each repeat poll. This only means that the identity of the respondents is more easily susceptible to “leaks” and therefore less secure against gaming or undue influence. 2. [...]

However before you start rejoicing OR gnashing your teeth, (depending on who you are rooting for) please be aware that this “Mobile Survey” is very different from the normal SWS pre-election surveys in several very significant ways:

1. Although it uses 1200 respondents who were presumably selected randomlty from validated voters lists, the survey re-uses the same sample of voters for each of the subsequent runnings of the survey, making the sample more like a “focus group or panel”. I do believe the normal surveys choose a different randomly selected sample for each repeat poll. This only means that the identity of the respondents is more easily susceptible to “leaks” and therefore less secure against gaming or undue influence.

2. In the April running of this Mobile Survey, only 56% (676 out of 1200) of the original panel actually responded to the survey. But Mass Media is blithely considering this to be just a smaller sample and naively assigns a statistical uncertainty of plus or minus 4% to the results. But I think this is wrong because WHY did 44% of the panel NOT respond to the survey? It suggests that there is a kind of SELF-SELECTION going on here, which happens in many unscientific polls. This may not entirely invalidate the results, but the margin of error is almost certainly NOT as if the actual respondents were randomly selected.

Mobile surveys are definitely the future of polling because they offer the possibility of much larger respondent samples with quicker turn around times than face-to-face surveys. However, this is the first time SWS is doing this, so this survey model is untested and unproven. It will require a careful comparison of the eventual official winners with the survey’s last snapshot of the race.

So for those rooting for Roxas or Binay, do not despair (even if they are shown to be in the teens, lagging well behind Poe and Duterte). Likewise, Robredo, Bongbong and Chiz fans should hang onto the edge of their seats.

There is another important factor, recently brought to my attention by political consultant Malou Tiquia, on the matter of “market” and “command votes”. This has to do with the fact that while the scientific polls may quite accurately gauge public preferences to within the precision allowed by their sample sizes, there is reason to think that such surveys do not take into account the distortion caused by command voting in some communities where local powers are able to dictate or strongly influence the popular votes. For example, in the past, we have seen strange results not reflected in pre-election polling, where whole precincts or towns turn in 100% of votes for one candidate.

Both Roxas and Binay are said to have considerable command votes through allies and subalterns in the local areas.

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http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/why-sws-mobile-survey-may-be-statistically-flawed/feed/017394Assessing the Candidates on Educationhttp://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/assessing-the-candidates-on-education/
http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/assessing-the-candidates-on-education/#respondSun, 03 Apr 2016 00:30:26 +0000http://blogwatch.tv/?p=17334Part of an #Election2016 series called “Public Choice” WHY EDUCATION? A survey conducted by Pulse Asia back in December 2015 found that education was the second leading personal concern among voters after health which was at 62%, ahead of finishing school or providing an education for their children (48%), securing a well-paying job or source of income (43%), and having enough to eat everyday (41%). The ranking by voters is quite intuitive. Your mind and body both need to be fit and healthy for you to absorb knowledge and skills at school. Without proper nutrition early in life, human development gets stunted both physically and mentally. Being protected from the financial cost of health care could spell the difference between fulfilling your potential and becoming destitute. Developing human capital by investing in health and education will become the primary function of a developmental state in the 21st century. This is because getting a good education these days is so crucial to finding gainful employment. As the economic sociologist Peter Evans wrote 21st century development will depend on generating intangible assets (ideas, skills, and networks) rather than on stimulating investment in machinery and physical assets oriented to the production of tangible [...]

A survey conducted by Pulse Asia back in December 2015 found that education was the second leading personal concern among voters after health which was at 62%, ahead of finishing school or providing an education for their children (48%), securing a well-paying job or source of income (43%), and having enough to eat everyday (41%).

The ranking by voters is quite intuitive. Your mind and body both need to be fit and healthy for you to absorb knowledge and skills at school. Without proper nutrition early in life, human development gets stunted both physically and mentally. Being protected from the financial cost of health care could spell the difference between fulfilling your potential and becoming destitute.

Developing human capital by investing in health and education will become the primary function of a developmental state in the 21st century. This is because getting a good education these days is so crucial to finding gainful employment. As the economic sociologist Peter Evans wrote

21st century development will depend on generating intangible assets (ideas, skills, and networks) rather than on stimulating investment in machinery and physical assets oriented to the production of tangible goods. This makes investment in human capabilities (which include what is traditionally known as “human capital”) more economically critical.

In the Philippines, the program to achieve universal basic education is known as Education for All (EFA). Back in 2015, the government conducted a national review of the reforms to basic education for an international conference sponsored by UNESCO. It provided an update on the status of these reforms and some recommendations for the way forward. It starts off by saying

A country’s vision of inclusive growth and development entails investment in human capital, particularly through the provision of quality basic education, competitive technical vocational skills training, and relevant and responsive higher education as stated in the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016.

The report takes stock of the progress made under EFA, as reflected in the following table:

Performance Criteria

What’s been achieved

Net enrollment rate (NER)

(% of population in school as of 2012-13)

Kinder: 77%

Primary: 95% (Female 96.3%, Male 94.2%)

Secondary: 65% (Female 70%, Male 59.9%)

Completion rate

(average % of cohort that completed the final grade from 2005-06 to 2012-13)

The main challenge of the education sector has to do with keeping students in school, particularly within the first 3 years. There is near universal participation in primary school, but the dropout rate in Grade 1 alone stood at 13% back in 2011/12. For Kindergarten there is still a lack of community awareness since the 2013 law that offered universal early childhood care came into effect.

Gender parity is not much of an issue in the Philippines. Female participation and completion rates have both been higher than their male counterparts. Poverty is still the main barrier to completing an education, which is why the Pantawid Pamilya was put in place, to increase participation by providing cash grants to households for keeping kids in school.

It also is there to address stunting, which occurs in the first two years of life and irreversibly lowers a person’s cognitive abilities. The Aquino government not only expanded it to cover 4 million households, it also increased the cutoff age for children to 18 so that they could stay in the program until they finished secondary school, and targeted those affected by natural disasters, conflict, indigenous families through the modified conditional cash transfer program.

The need to improve quality, access and funding, particularly now that the government has introduced senior high school have to be addressed. Even with the voucher program, which enables students to access places at private schools, a serious gap could still emerge in terms of facilities, since most private providers charge top-up fees. This could possibly lead to perverse outcomes for the K-12 program, if not all incoming senior high students are accommodated and have to leave school due to inadequate fee free places.

The purpose for introducing K-12, which incorporates vocational education and training, was to align our educational system with our ASEAN counterparts, in time for the ASEAN Economic Community. The need to build 21st Century skills in critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity, and information technology is also a big challenge. With achievement at national tests still well below acceptable levels, new paradigms and pedagogical strategies need to be explored, which requires training and development of teachers, as well as better curricula and learning materials.

CHALLENGES FOR POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION

For post-school education, which includes both higher education and technical vocational education and training, the challenge not only includes improving quality of delivery, but meeting the demand of industry for skilled and qualified labor. As the World Bank Lead Economist Emanuela di Gropello remarked at a conference back in 2012

Employers in both manufacturing and services in the East Asia and the Pacific region including the Philippines are looking for problem-solving, communications, management and other skills that will support higher productivity. Yet employer perceptions and wage skill premiums point to gaps in these skills in newly-hired professionals.

The Roadmap to Public Higher Education Reform instituted by the Commission on Higher Education aims to rationalize and consolidate the number of state universities and colleges (SUC) and their program offerings. It also seeks to use something called the Normative Funding Formula (NFF) to provide adequate funding to SUCs based on the cost of delivering each program, which would include maintenance and other operating expenses, and capital outlays.

The NFF will be used as a mechanism to encourage more students into programs and courses that are of good quality and whose graduates are in demand. With the Comprehensive National Industry Strategy just released by the Department of Trade and Industry, it should be possible to geographically map the demand for skills down to the regional level, or even lower.

The UniFAST Board will also study the possibility of entering into an agreement with the GSIS and SSS for deducting student loan repayments automatically from the salaries of students after they graduate, similar to the way that the Australian Higher Education Contribution Scheme works, which is also currently being studied by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

WHAT THE CANDIDATES ARE PROPOSING

Now that we have seen the challenges of our educational system, let us turn to what the candidates are proposing to address them.

Mar Roxas

As Secretary for Trade and Industry, Roxas was responsible for promoting the growth of the business process outsourcing industry, which is generating demand for skilled service workers. His proposals for education are contained in a comprehensive policy document, and shown below along with a brief assessment.

Proposed Solutions

Assessment

Continue and improve on programs that will enhance educational infrastructure and ensure the sufficiency of basic education inputs to meet the growing requirements of the K to 12 program.

Gobbledy-gook. This sounds like purposefully vague bureaucrat-speak, which essentially signals everything and nothing, all at once.

Focus on further boosting the performance of teaching personnel through more extensive capacity building programs (from a speech he gave to the Makati Business Club, we now know that he “will require teacher training, that will require more scholarships for teachers so that they can get their masterals that will require (them) to learn new ways of teaching old lessons”.

On the right track, but insufficient. While there are proposals from some quarters to make graduate training a pre-requisite for entry level teaching positions, programs for teacher education need careful vetting and have to be evidence-based to reflect world’s best practice.

Adopt international standards in assessing performance of schools, colleges, and universities to raise their competitiveness, as well as that of their graduates.

Develop technical vocational centers in provinces to expand tech-voc education both in and of itself, and as an integral part of our formal education system.

Nothing new. TESDA already has established centers nationwide, as well as accredits private providers who offer vocational training and education both for school-based and adult education. The statement needs to be more specific. What on top of this does he intend to do?

To support deserving Filipino students, we will establish a fund to provide financial support (tuition and allowance) to high school graduates who finish at the top of their class nationwide, to allow them to pursue their tertiary education in quality schools; and honors high schools in the provinces, where education is subsidized and students will be provided with allowances.

From his talk at MBC we now know he plans to allocate Php2.4 billion to provide 5,000 valedictorians from public senior high schools with Php100,000 a year in college grants and provide Php10,000 stipends to the top 10%.

On the right track. This is an expansion of the Iskolar ng Bayan program that has now been subsumed under the UniFAST program. While this is helpful, we encourage Mar Roxas to look at the bigger picture-how to provide universal access to further education not just for the top 10% of graduating senior high students, but for the remaining 90% as well by increasing UniFAST funding, and allowing its board to determine its allocation in a rational and methodical manner.

Grace Poe

Senator Poe enunciated her priorities for education when she gave a speech covering her 20 point agenda.Here they are with a brief assessment.

Vague. Needs to be more specific. UniFAST is meant to do this. How would she expand and strengthen this system?

Paid internships for college students.

Questionable role of government. Vague. Which agency would be responsible for this? What would be the role of government providing paid internships?

Rody Duterte

Despite stating that education would become a priority under his administration, Mayor Duterte hasn’t released a detailed policy document that would spell out exactly what he would do. We do have this recorded interview though, which I extract below, with some comments.

Proposed Solutions

Assessment

We will build adequate classrooms and raise the salary of teachers.

Vague. He doesn’t explain what he means by ‘adequate’ nor provide detail on the appropriate level of teacher composition.

Double the shifts of our own classes even teaching with the use of large screen TV’s.

Incoherent. Many public schools already hold two or even three sessions a day. Does he mean to hold 4-6 sessions a day? That would be physically impossible. As for using large screen TV’s for instruction, this needs to be more thought out.

Government Media and our Schools must Teach Values of Honesty, Hard Work, Respect for the Law, and above all Dignity and Pride as Filipinos for it is only with spiritual growth that we can sustain material growth.

Motherhood statement. HEKASI or geography, history and civics, now called Makabayan is already being taught in school. How would he improve instruction in this area, more specifically?

Jejomar Binay

From the Office of the Vice President comes a press release detailing how the veep would handle the education system based on his experience as mayor of Makati. Here are its main points below, with some comments.

Proposed Solutions

Assessment

Build 30,000 new classrooms nationwide, particularly in rural locations, by expanding the public-private partnership for school infrastructure with the help of business groups such as the FFCCCI. The President’s Social Fund (PSF) can provide counterpart funds for these classrooms. We will bring the schools closer to the students to decrease the attrition rate caused by schools being inaccessible to the pupils.

On the right track. The PPP for School Infrastructure Stage 1 produced over 9,300 classrooms. Stage 2 is partially complete and is meant to produce over 4,300 schools. Stage 3 is being conceptualized. The veep’s plan is achievable (since Aquino closed the 66,800 school backlog left by the previous administration) and is a step-up for the PPP for School Infrastrure program and could address the shortage of classrooms for the senior high school program.

Increase the share of the education budget by 20% to hire more teachers, increase investments in teacher training and purchase additional books, computers and other instructional facilities and materials.

Achievable and desirable. In 2016 the share of education to the total budget is about 17%, compared to 13% in 2009 (based on World Bank stats). This is an increase of 27%. The veep’s target of a 20% increase would mean the education budget would be 20% of the budget by 2022. This is achievable and desirable.

Part of the CCT (conditional cash transfer or Pantawid Pamilya) funds can be allocated to Dep-Ed for teacher hiring. Likewise, the LGUs [local government units] can be asked to use their special education funds – which comes from the additional 1% real property tax of LGUs – for teacher hiring and classroom repairs.

No longer tenable. The veep criticised the CCT for including non-poor recipients (a view supported by empirical evidence). He has had to backtrack from his position as the camp of Roxas sought to wage a scare campaign, saying the veep would scrap CCT altogether.

The veep has had to compensate by pandering to the CCT constituency even more by saying he not only would maintain it, but would also expand the program to cover senior citizens.

While the use of real property tax by LGUs for education use helps address the question of funding at the local level, it would not be equitable for poorer LGUs with lower property values.

We intend to close the budgetary gap between UP’s proposed budget and the actual appropriation within a span of five to seven years

Too much wiggle room. By specifying 5-7 years, the veep is giving himself space to extend the attainment of this promise beyond his term.

For the youth who drop out for reasons of poverty, we will increase the number of scholarships. We are looking at the possibility of offering one collegiate study grant per family. We aim to help the child get through school while we help his parents find jobs or increase their incomes.

On the right track. This is an extension of the the UniFAST program. While this is helpful, we encourage the veep to look at the bigger picture-how to provide access to further education for all deserving students who lack financial capacity to acquire it.

Our program intends to raise the basic salary of teachers and give them other extra benefits, like housing. We are looking at adjusting the salary of a Teacher 1, from the current salary Grade 11, to at least salary Grade 19. We also want our teachers to receive more material benefits, such as increased instructional materials, allowance, study grants for their children, tax exemptions for additional benefits given to them, as well as funeral assistance by way of discounts in burial services.

On the right track. Compared to Roxas’ plan to raise the standards for entry level teaching positions, the veep is looking to attract the best and brightest teachers by offering them higher salaries and benefits. The two thrusts are complementary and useful.

The comments above are not meant to provide an endorsement to any one candidate. They show that the candidates still have much to clarify and refine in their policy statements. With the coverage of the race dominated by popularity polls and personalities, this series is meant to fill a void by providing an assessment based on principled policy platforms.

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http://blogwatch.tv/2016/04/assessing-the-candidates-on-education/feed/017334Why Health Should Be the Defining Election Issue of 2016http://blogwatch.tv/2016/03/why-health-should-be-the-defining-election-issue-of-2016/
http://blogwatch.tv/2016/03/why-health-should-be-the-defining-election-issue-of-2016/#respondWed, 30 Mar 2016 00:30:05 +0000http://blogwatch.tv/?p=17276Part of an #Election2016 series called “Public Choice” A survey conducted by Pulse Asia back in December 2015 found that health was the leading personal concern among voters with 62% of respondents saying staying healthy and free of illness was a most urgent personal concern of theirs, ahead of finishing school or providing an education for their children (48%), securing a well-paying job or source of income (43%), and having enough to eat everyday (41%). Health is so fundamental to our personal well-being and ability to become productive members of society. And yet, at the second presidential debate in Cebu, questions covering the health system were bumped off by other topics. It wasn’t due to the late start that time ran out, but because candidates were allowed by the format to and did engage with each other more thoroughly than they were able to in the first debate. A World Bank study in May 2015 noted that achieving universal health care is not just about improving health services, but achieving “a situation where all people who need health services (prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative) receive them without undue financial hardship”. The WHO/World Bank Group proposes that by 2030 everyone [...]

A survey conducted by Pulse Asia back in December 2015 found that health was the leading personal concern among voters with 62% of respondents saying staying healthy and free of illness was a most urgent personal concern of theirs, ahead of finishing school or providing an education for their children (48%), securing a well-paying job or source of income (43%), and having enough to eat everyday (41%).

Health is so fundamental to our personal well-being and ability to become productive members of society. And yet, at the second presidential debate in Cebu, questions covering the health system were bumped off by other topics. It wasn’t due to the late start that time ran out, but because candidates were allowed by the format to and did engage with each other more thoroughly than they were able to in the first debate.

A World Bank study in May 2015 noted that achieving universal health care is not just about improving health services, but achieving “a situation where all people who need health services (prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative) receive them without undue financial hardship”. The WHO/World Bank Group proposes that by 2030 everyone should have 100 percent financial protection from out-of-pocket payments.

In the Philippines, the WB found that real spending on health increased by 150% between 2000 and 2012 (see chart above), “with the sharpest increases occurring in recent years”. It found that

The percentage of people impoverished by health spending has also increased and, in 2012, out-of-pocket spending on health added 1.5 percentage points to the poverty rate.

This was more than enough to offset the 1.4% point reduction of poverty in 2013 due to the Pantawid Pamilya program. The WB also found that the incidence of catastrophic payments trebled since 2000, perhaps a reflection of the obesity epidemic that is spreading even to low and middle income countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO).

At least 1 in 4 Filipinos die from heart disease, stroke or another noncommunicable disease (NCD) before the age of 70. Many of those deaths can be prevented, provided people can obtain the health services they need.

Medicine was the primary driver of health spending, which accounted for “almost two-thirds of total health spending, and as much as three-quarters among the poor,” in spite of the enactment of the “Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act” of 2008 (R.A. 9502) and the “Food and Drug Administration Act” (R.A. 9711) of 2009. A government review prepared by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) into the Cheaper Medicine Program in 2011 identified several weaknesses in the application of the price regulation of drugs, as made possible by these laws. It further suggested that

The most important factor (to explain costly medicine) is the sheer lack of supply of generic alternatives to households wanting them, a situation that persisted until past the middle part of 2000s when generics finally emerged on their own, thanks in part to the initiatives (such as the parallel drug importation, village pharmacies, drug franchises, drug treatment packs, and the like).

The dominance of some drug companies in the manufacture and distribution of drugs, lack of awareness on the part of households regarding generics, and the influence of advertising and promotion through prescribing doctors by the pharmaceutical industries also could have contributed to the problem, according to PIDS. The WB suggests a review of the industry is needed. This could probably be handled by the newly created Philippine Competition Commission.

It remains to be seen whether recent policy developments initiated by the government have helped. In December 2012 the indexation to inflation of excise taxes imposed on tobacco and alcohol products was signed. The revenue increase generated by the sin tax reform law allowed the government to provide healthcare to an additional 14 million families or 45 million Filipinos and expand PhilHealth coverage from 72% of the population in 2011 to 84% of the population in 2014, according to the WHO.

Coverage was expanded further in 2015, when a 2014 law mandating the coverage of people over 60 years of age came into effect. Another set of policies increased the generosity of the PhilHealth benefit package to include (as stated in the WB report):

a wide range of medical cases and surgical procedures at accredited public and private providers;

maternity care and newborn care benefits;

a few specific outpatient interventions (such as treatment for tuberculosis, rabies, and leptospirosis);

a so-called catastrophic “z-benefit” package which includes certain types of cancers, some cardiovascular surgeries, dialysis and kidney transplants, among others; and

a primary care benefit package which has recently been expanded to include also screening and treatment for some noncommunicable diseases (such as breast cancer and cervical cancer) and a small medicines benefit.

Poor/indigent members have the added benefit of “no balance billing” which is meant to be observed by all PhilHealth-accredited providers whether government or private. No fees or charges over and above what is reimbursed by the PhilHealth benefit package should be billed, under this policy.

Despite these improvements, programmed spending on health in 2016 is meant to decline to Php 135.3 billion in 2016, compared to Php 195.9 billion in 2015, according to the Department of Budget and Management. In 2013 public health expenditure was 1.5% of GDP. The prescribed level of health spending according to the WHO is 5% of GDP.

THE IDEAL HEALTH POLICY MIX

Here is what a considered health policy mix would look like based on these studies. The solutions essentially fall under three categories. These are on the availability of services, cost of health services, and cost of medicine, to which I add the cost of funding health. Here is a brief discussion of each of these areas of concern (see also table summary below):

Lowering the Private Cost of Health Services. Out-of-pocket expenses can be reduced with the following:

Introduce a fixed co-contribution for non-poor Philhealth members. Allowing private and public hospitals to charge unlimited fees for non-poor patients above what Philhealth will reimburse defeats the purpose of health insurance, the WB says. A fixed co-contribution will limit the financial burden they will have to bear.

Expand the benefits package of Philhealth members.

Provide capitation for primary health care. Capitation is a payment for health care services, in which a physician, hospital, or other health care provider is paid a contracted rate for each member assigned, regardless of the number or nature of services provided. The lack of capitation to offset the private cost of primary health care is a “severe shortcoming” according to PIDS because “89% of pharmacy sales made on outpatient settings” where a lot of patients don’t consult a doctor, in part to avoid consultation fees.

Replace the current fee-for service funding model for hospital care with case-based funding. Under the present system, private hospitals have no incentive to use cheaper generic drugs, according to PIDS because “the higher the value of their claims, the more reimbursements they obtain, and the better off they would be.” Under case-based funding, hospitals are paid a fixed amount based on the type of treatment and number of patients treated. This would force them to seek the most cost-effective way of treating patients.

Increasing the Availability of Services. To meet the rising demand for health services, the WB says that the government needs to ramp up “supply side readiness” in the medium term. This is just economist-speak for hiring more pharmacists, doctors, and nurses, and building more hospitals, clinics, village pharmacies, especially in the poorest provinces, towns and communities.

Lowering the Cost of Medicine. The main cost-driver according to the PIDS study was the lack of alternative/generic medicine, and the government’s parallel drug importation program coupled with other interventions such as the village pharmacies, drug franchises, treatment packs served only to increase the ubiquity of generics, forcing innovator drug companies to lower their prices. Keeping these in place is essential. Other ways to lower prices is by removing VAT on medicine and expanding the coverage of the government’s cap on drug prices.

Raising revenue to pay for health care. The rising demand for medical services can be traced to increasing rates of obesity in developing countries. The Philippines is part of this trend. Unhealthy nutrition and diet and sedentary lifestyle are its cause. A tax on sugary drinks and unhealthy (salty and fatty) food can help address this by taxing unwanted behavior. A study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that such a tax would need to be set at a minimum of 20% to influence behavior. I have previously tried to develop the scope and estimate the revenues that could be generated by such a tax. I conservatively place it now at Php15 billion a year, or about a third of what the reformed sin taxes have generated.

Reduce out-of-pocket expenses, and address gaps in utilization of health care services provided by the government.

A bit vague and too broad:It could mean any number of things, and is more a statement of the ultimate outcome, not the means to achieving it.

Further reduce drug prices through bulk procurement.

Nothing new and insufficient:Using government’s purchasing power to help bring down drug prices has been shown to help encourage the use of generics, but since then innovator brands have lowered their prices. Keeping this program in place is needed to keep drug companies honest, but improvements to procurement process are also required.

Ensure the availability of appropriate health facilities and human resource for health (HRH) at different levels of care, with the goal of ensuring that every barangay has a health station with sufficient primary health care providers, equipment, and medicine.

Necessary but at what cost? This is a medium-term measure. Expanding health services requires additional funding. How will he pay for these services?

Continue the establishment of PhilHealth-accredited women and child centers in isolated barangays.

See above.

Sustain the provision of complete immunization from infancy to adolescence, and to senior citizens.

Nothing new. He is merely saying he won’t de-prioritize or de-fund the programs.

Possibly premature: The WB has advised further study of the primary care medicines for twelve conditions included in the expansion of the primary care benefit package before expanding pharmaceutical benefits.

Grace Poe

The senator considers herself a champion of the poor, and has themed her campaign for president around a caring form of governance. She released her 20 point agenda at the launch of her campaign. It contained the following statements on health:

Policy response

Evidence-based assessment

Everyone’s health is important. No family should be driven to bankruptcy by illness or be made to choose between food or medicine for their sick loved ones.

Motherhood statement. More of a statement of principle, rather than policy.

Our people should be able to rely on expanded health benefits through Philhealth.

Too vague. It lacks detail as to what additional benefits would be included in the package.

I will ensure that each community has a proper hospital, staffed with enough doctors, nurses and midwives, and with all the necessary equipment, medicine and supplies.

Necessary but at what cost? This is a medium-term measure. Expanding health services requires additional funding. How will she pay for these services?

According to Peter Wallace, she is proposing PhilHealth vouchers, that would enable poor patients to access healthcare from private providers.

The Duterte campaign released a policy platform, which includes a plan to “intensify and improve social services” (including health). The following has been gathered from news reports.

Policy response

Evidence-based assessment

He will expand charity wards by requiring all private hospitals to allocate 20 to 30 beds for the poor for free, with government paying for their hospital bills.

Unnecessary. The no balance billing policy for poor patients which is already in place, and distribution of health cards to the remaining poor population not yet covered, would achieve this outcome. Better enforcement and implementation of existing policies is all that is needed.

He will push for a stronger promotion of family planning methods,both natural and artificial.

A bit vague. How will this happen? The reproductive health law is already in play. It just requires adequate funding.

He will conduct a review of the government’s health insurance policies.

Non-committal. This is sort of a plan to come up with a plan, which is no plan at all.

Jejomar Binay

The vice president and former mayor outlined his platform which included improving the quality and accessibility of health services. The following was sourced through media releases:

Policy response

Evidence-based assessment

He has vowed to increase public health spending to at least five percent of the country’s gross domestic product as recommended by the World Health Organization.

Necessary but how? The veep has indicated the level of spending for health that he intends to allocate. He is the only candidate to do so. Based on 2013 GDP figures total health spending (both private and public) was 4.4% of GDP. An allocation of 5% of GDP for health would have covered all public and private costs and then some, to deal with currently unmet needs. The current level of public spending represents about 1.4% of GDP (based on WB data). The goal of 5% of GDP is appropriate, but from where will he source this level of spending, and what is his timeline for achieving it?

He will implement a program similar to the Yellow Card initiative of Makati to minimize health-related expenses by the people. The Yellow Card program includes free maternal, child and elderly care, free outpatient consultations and medicines and government-subsidized hospitalization on top of PhilHealth benefits.

Desirable. Since the Yellow Card initiative is well-documented as being “best practice”, and is the most comprehensive healthcare package around. Philhealth already includes the services specified, but what the veep intends to do is increase the extent of subsidy even further. The only remaining question is how closely will his national health plan mirror the Yellow Card.

Coverage and benefits under PhilHealth will be expanded.

See above.

This is where the candidates stand so far. The analysis above is not meant to provide an endorsement to anyone. As can be deduced, health is a highly complex policy area. A candidate’s ability to master it, and effectively take the lead in reforming it, would be a litmus test of the executive capacity of that individual. This, and its centrality to our sense of well-being, is perhaps why health ought to be a defining issue for the coming presidential elections.